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Editorial Reviews
Writer, producer, artist and co-founder of Eurythmics, Blackbird Diaries is Dave Stewart's first solo album of new material in over a decade. With an American flare and rooted in rock, country, and blues, Blackbird Diaries is in the vein of recent releases by Neil Young masterful recordings mixed with rich and detailed lyrics. Material features co-writes with Bob Dylan and with Stevie Nicks as well as duets with Stevie Nicks, Martina McBride, Colbie Caillat and several tracks featuring The Secret Sisters.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic! An ocean and two decades away from Eurythmics,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Blackbird Diaries (Audio CD)
And now for something completely different: rock veteran Dave Stewart pays tribute to American music with a timeless collection of original songs recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville. They feature wailing pedal steel, keening organ, female backing vocals, and Stewart's agreeably raspy voice. "The Blackbird Diaries" is an unadulterated pleasure: bluesy, rootsy, and rocking. It deservedly won rave reviews in the UK, where the CD came out in June. It's eclectic and bountiful and authentic, Dave's best-ever solo release.On the first cut, "So Long Ago," he namechecks the late, great country blues artists Jessie Mae Hemphill and Mississippi John Hurt as well as the Rolling Stones; that should give you the flavor of the first three tracks. Like Keith Richards and Bob Dylan (a blues number, "Beast Called Fame," is positively Dylanesque), Stewart was deeply influenced by the music of the Delta. "Magic in the Blues" offers similar devotion, briefly evoking the sounds of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. Growing out of the British tradition, Stewart had many of the same influences as Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler, whom he emulates more than once on this recording. But he's not stuck in the past. He also sings with several popular women, both old pros and newcomers, who help leaven the album and broaden its appeal. He's joined by Martina McBride on "All Messed Up," a contemporary country ballad; The Secret Sisters on "One Way Ticket to the Moon," which could have easily come from a Dire Straits disc; and Colbie Caillat on "Bulletproof Vest," a song suffused with regret. When he bookends a sweet Stevie Nicks duet called "Cheaper Than Free" with the soulful rockers "Stevie Baby" and "The Gypsy Girl and Me," it's impossible not to imagine he's thinking of her. "Worth the Waiting For" is just that, a terrific soul workout that Dave co-wrote with Bob Dylan. It's followed by a couple of traditional country songs, "The Well" and "Country Wine" (again featuring The Secret Sisters). On the final cut, "Can't Get You Out of My Head," Dave rocks out (hey hey hey! woo hoo!); he mentions Bryan Ferry and channels Lou Reed when he howls "Sweet Jane!" In the 1980s, Eurythmics proved that Dave Stewart was a brilliant songwriter and performer. Although his albums haven't seen a great deal of commercial success since then, he's never stopped working. He's collaborated as a writer and producer with many famous faces (besides Annie Lennox, there's Tom Petty, Bob Geldof, Jon Bon Jovi, Ringo Starr, Joss Stone, Mick Jagger, and others), and he's been involved in a wide range of humanitarian, political, and artistic projects. This new solo CD demonstrates that Stewart has lost none of his musical chops. Great to have you back, Dave! FYI, at theblackbirddiaries website, you can read further reviews and watch videos for "Gypsy Girl," "Stevie Baby," "Beast Called Fame," "Bulletproof Vest," and "All Messed Up."
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I was feeling empty hearted.,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Blackbird Diaries (Audio CD)
Dave Stewart has proven a jack of all trades over the years, working with numerous musicians across many genres of popular music. Truth be told, and you have to admit it, his best work was with Annie Lennox as the Eurythmics. He was firing on all cylinders then, making pop music history.In 1990, he embarked on a solo career beginning with "Dave Stewart And The Spiritual Cowboys" and the song "Party Town" as featured in the mediocre film "Flatliners". The album was good, and a nice, if not entirely different, step out on his own musically. I own all of his solo albums, and I listened to all of them prior to listening to "The Blackbird Diaries", his fifth studio solo album, and his first since 1998's "Sly-Fi". I see the few handful of reviewers here gush over "The Blackbird Diaries", but I'm here to temper their enthusiasm with some reality. The reality being that Dave Stewart, a Brit, has gone to Nashville, Tennessee, gathered a crop of homegrown musicians, and put together an album of country/blues tracks in The Blackbird Studios there. At the same time, he produced a relatively good Stevie Nicks album earlier this year (her first in a decade) "In Your Dreams", not that different in sound than his "The Blackbird Diaries". After the release of "The Blackbird Diaries" he was involved in supergroup SuperHeavy (Dave Stewart, Mick Jagger, Damien Marley, A.R. Rahman & Joss Stone) which dropped their debut "SuperHeavy" a month later. This has been quite the year for Dave. Three high profile gigs, but "The Blackbird Diaries" is the weakest. That's not to say that this album is bad, it's just rather boring compared to Dave's more adventurous earlier works. He has dispensed with all programmable equipment and electronics in favor of a stripped down approach of acoustic and electric country/blues tracks with some duets in Martina McBride and Stevie Nicks, plus Colbie Caillat and The Secret Sisters. While I can appreciate the other reviewers opinions here about how much they liked this album, I felt some what bored by it. It is overly long, and a few tracks could have been relegated to b-side status to tighten up the overall musical effect. My favorite track is "Magic In The Blues" which seems either autobiographical or semi-autobiographical in nature and mentions Annie Lennox without naming names. "One Way Ticket To The Moon" is eerie and effective, and the only rocker here "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" rolls right along, and "All Messed Up" is the strongest ballad here. Otherwise, the rest is average, not bad, but not interesting either with the exception of "Stevie Baby" in which Dave seems to be reminiscing about Stevie Nicks. Now, I already liked "Cheaper Than Free" because it was the last track featured on Stevie Nicks' "In Your Dream" released three months earlier. I believe that Dave Stewart's strength is blending rock with electronics, as he did with the Eurythmics, and also on his earlier solo work. He also works magic on other musicians whether it's Stevie Nicks' "In Your Dreams" or Daryl Hall's "Three Hearts In The Happy Ending Machine" or Bob Geldof's "Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere" or even Candy Dulfer's "Saxuality". So as much as I was anticipating listening to "The Blackbird Diaries" it fell short of my expectations, which admittedly may have been set too high. Plus, this style of music is generally not my favorite, and even less so in Stewart's hands. Now if this were Johnny Cash, Chris Isaak or Elvis Presley, that would be different. As it stands, this effort is mid-quality Stewart. Here's how "The Blackbird Diaries" compares to Dave's other works: The Tourists: 1979 The Tourists: Haven't heard it. 1979 Reality Effect: Haven't heard it. 1980 Luminous Basement: Haven't heard it. Eurythmics: 1981 In The Garden: Three and a Half Stars 1983 Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This): Five Stars 1983 Touch: Five Stars 1984 1984 (For The Love Of Big Brother): Four Stars 1985 Be Yourself Tonight: Five Stars 1986 Revenge: Four Stars 1987 Savage: Five Stars 1989 We Too Are One: Four Stars 1999 Peace: Three and a Half Stars Dave Stewart: 1990 Dave Stewart And The Spiritual Cowboys: Four Stars 1991 Honest: Five Stars 1994 Greetings From The Gutter: Three and a Half Stars 1998 Sly-Fi: Four Stars 2011 The Blackbird Diaries: Three and a Half Stars
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grammy material,
By
This review is from: The Blackbird Diaries (Audio CD)
This is one of the best if not best efforts I have heard so far this year. Not a clunker on the whole CD. This might be a career defining moment for Dave Stewart and unless something better comes along should definetly scoop up a Grammy ( or two!).
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